Evaluation of the AIS Transponder Technologies for Vessel Traffic Service

Feizhou Wang

Abstract:	Maritime authorities are now looking for new surveillance methods to improve the function, efficiency and reliability of Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), as the traditional radar sensor and analog voice communication can not cope with the continual increase in the number of high-speed vessels and super-large vessels. A promising solution is to introduce Automated Identification System (AIS) into VTS. An AIS is a transponder system, based on digital communication and precise satellite positioning, operating in interactive or dependent mode. Two kinds of AIS for maritime purpose, using the DSC and the STDMA communication respectively are available now. This paper begins with an overview of the traditional vessel traffic surveillance method, including a description of its deficiencies. The demand and solution for system upgrading is discussed next. The main topic of the paper is a theoretical comparison between DSC and STDMA for AIS. This comparison is focused on the communication issues, including modulation scheme, data packet protocol, data link structure and channel accession mode. Then the efficiency of channel utilization (ECU) and surveillance capacity (SC) of DSC and STDMA AIS are reckoned. In considering the aspect of error-control capability, the ECU and SC are revised. Other issues such as message types are also discussed. Finally, a comprehensive performance assessment of both DSC AIS and STDMA AIS is highlighted for VTS upgrading.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 55th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1999) June 27 - 30, 1999 Royal Sonesta Hotel Cambridge, MA
Pages:	107 - 115
Cite this article:	Wang, Feizhou, "Evaluation of the AIS Transponder Technologies for Vessel Traffic Service," Proceedings of the 55th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1999), Cambridge, MA, June 1999, pp. 107-115.
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